Single Shot Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

A Very Rare Confederate Columbus Armory Carbine

November 14, 2022 Ian McCollum 2

Carbines made by the Columbus Armory are particularly scarce, and their history is not really well understood. They were manufactured by John Gray of Columbus SC, whose brother William Gray was a partner in another […]

Westley Richards Centerfire Monkey Tail Carbine

April 18, 2022 Ian McCollum 23

The Westley Richards “Monkey Tail” was a popular capping breechloader first designed in 1858. It was finally adopted by the British cavalry in 1866, and served until 1881. It was also a popular commercial rifle, […]

Ethiopian Oddities: Strange Smallbore Gewehr 71 Carbine

November 30, 2021 Ian McCollum 23

Today’s Ethiopian Oddity is a Gewehr 1871 carbine – remarkably still with its matching bolt – rechamsbered for a small bore, smokeless powder cartridge. It is a quite interesting example of an Ethiopian armorer’s work…

“FUSTAN” – The Competition Rimfire MAS-36 for North Africa

November 24, 2021 Ian McCollum 11

While the French military adopted a .22 rimfire training version of the MAS-36, that rifle (the “Tir Réduit 5.5mm”) was intended for military training, and not for formal competition. During World War Two, the design […]

Dodge Patent Prototype Rolling Block Rifle

November 11, 2021 Ian McCollum 28

William Dodge and his brother were inventors in Washington DC who in the 1870s patented a bunch of different improvements to the Remington Rolling Block, among other guns. This particular one I cannot identify with […]

Unique Rotating Single-Shot Percussion Rifle

November 8, 2021 Ian McCollum 29

This is a very unusual single-shot muzzleloading rifle. It is devoid of markings that might identify it, but appears (to my eye, anyway) to have been built from what was originally intended to be a […]

Confederate Gillam & Miller Rolling Block Transformation

October 26, 2021 Ian McCollum 6

Most people think about the Remington Rolling Block as a purpose-built rifle, but it was also used as a way to transform muzzleloaders into more modern breechloaders. Remington did this commercially, and small gunsmiths did […]

Ethiopian Oddities – Single Shot French Mle 1878 Marine

September 9, 2021 Ian McCollum 9

Among all the standard rifles that are coming into the US from Ethiopia through InterOrdnance, there are a handful of really unusual oddballs, and we are going to look at several of them. We have […]

The Dutch Model 1871/79 Beaumont – from Ethiopia

August 27, 2021 Ian McCollum 12

The Beaumont was one of the early European breechloading metallic-cartridge rifles, adopted in 1871. The rifle is a combination of elements form the Chassepot, the Mauser-Norris, and a unique V-spring firing pin system invented by […]

The Three Types of Chassepot Cavalry Carbines

August 9, 2021 Ian McCollum 8

There are few records I have been able to find on production of the original Mle 1866 Chassepot cavalry carbines. However, Royal Tiger / InterOrdnance just recently brought in a crate of 200 Gras and […]